Jags' Darius takes on new trainer, attitude

When Jaguars safety Donovin Darius lines up in the secondary this year, he'll stand more upright than he has in the past.

Off the field, he has started eating cottage cheese late at night.

Those changes are a part of a new training and conditioning program he's working on in the offseason under the tutelage of Obake, a cage fighter and sports specific trainer who also runs a martial arts program at a Southside gym.

Darius, in his sixth season with the Jaguars, thinks the new training regimen, combined with the team's new defensive scheme, is going to be his springboard to his best season this year.

Darius even thinks the Jaguars' decision to place the franchise tag on him was a "blessing in disguise."

He said the five-year, $24.5 million deal signed by Brian Dawkins in Philadelphia and the seven-year, $30 million deal signed by Tebucky Jones in New Orleans have raised the salary bar for safeties. He thinks those deals will give him even more leverage if he has a big season this year.

Darius signed a one-year, $3 million deal for this season.

He said of his training program, "I've noticed the results. I'm stronger, faster and more powerful and I'm ready to take it to the next level and have my best year."

Donovin was introduced to Obake, whose real name is Tim Catalfo, by Dawkins, the Jacksonville native and Eagles safety who trained with Obake last year.

Catalfo got the nickname from a Japanese fighter -- it means monster spirit -- after he fought and beat 17 foes in one afternoon and the nickname caught on. At age 44, he's the super heavyweight champion of extreme fighting.

"He recruited me to revamp his game," Obake said of Darius. "He's an absolute perfectionist."

The point of having the 6-foot-1 Darius line up more upright is to save a step instead of having to come out of a crouch. A chiropractor, Obake has drills for foot movement and decreasing the number of steps a player takes. He said the drills have improved Darius' speed and reaction time.

The advantage of eating cottage cheese, which is low in fat, at night is that it moves slowly through the digestive system and helps Darius gain strength.

"I've never felt this good in the five years I've been playing," Darius said. "It's a different level of training than I've ever done before."

Darius also said that he'll be able to blitz and cover more in the Jaguars' new scheme. He said his reputation of being a big hitter who can't cover is a myth because he hasn't been asked to cover.

"In my mind, I don't have any weaknesses," he said. "I work on everything so there are no weaknesses and I can try to be the strongest link on the team."

Darius said he likes new coach Jack Del Rio and said he holds no hard feelings against the coach for his failure to get a long-term deal.

"I understand talking to Jack there are some things that are out of his control," he said. "My idea is that Jack was brought here to coach."

Darius said he'd like to stay in Jacksonville, but he understands pro football is a business.

"If they decide to keep me [next year], fine. If they don't, fine," he said. "My standards are set higher than anybody can set for me."

Even though Darius wants to eventually get his market value, he understands the fans who think he should be satisfied with $3 million. He grew up in the mean streets of Camden, N.J., as one of five children of a single mother.

"I could have gone that route," he said. "I could have been in jail. . . . I could have been dead."

When Darius was a senior in high school and his mother was in the hospital with a heart problem, he offered to quit the football team to get a job.

"My mom said, 'No, baby, you just go ahead and play,' " he said.

Darius played, won a scholarship to Syracuse and became a first-round draft pick of the Jaguars. He and his wife, Alemnesh, have four children and his mother and his three brothers also live in Jacksonville.

That helps explain why Darius isn't going to complain about the franchise tag.

"To see where I came from, I'm just grateful to be where I am now," he said.